Summary

The Roll Back Malaria (RBM) Partnership has set an ambitious target of achieving near zero deaths from malaria by 2015 (1). Scale-up of insecticide-treated nets, indoor residual spraying of insecticide, and increased access to treatment with artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) over the past decade have led to reductions in malaria incidence of more than 50% in 43 countries, including 8 in Africa (2). However, as an estimated 655,000 malaria deaths still occurred in 2010 (2), with the great majority in sub-Saharan Africa, substantial challenges remain.